Sammy Hagar

Are people really clamoring for the album by the Joe Satriani/Sammy Hagar/Michael Anthony/Chad Smith collaboration known as Chickenfoot? People seem to think so; the release of their debut album has been pushed up to next Friday, June 5, and the band will be on the now-Conan-hosted Tonight that same day. One wonders why a release date is important at all, since in the above clip the always-in-the-know Sammy Hagar mutters something about all the fans in attendance “steal[ing] that shit anyway,” but I guess I shouldn’t question the business acumen of a notorious beverage mogul. [Blabbermouth] More »

Former Kerrang! writer Howard Johnson has figured out a way to make money in this current crazy word-hostile age: T-shirts! Hey, everybody needs to be clothed, right? Sadly, he doesn’t have a replica of this top at his online store SaltyRockz, but he does have lots of other options for people who like to have passerby staring at their chests. The “Home Taping Is Killing Music” shirt at left—which seems so quaint now!—is but one of the items available at Johnson’s self-funded “labour of love”:

Sure, right now, God might be killing dogs because he has to, but the world keeps on turning, and Sammy Hagar has a new album to promote. When you’re dealing with weighty issues like the fashion of the universe (cosmically), not to mention the release of Cosmic Universal Fashion, there’s only one way to broadcast that to the masses: A sequel to the “Right Now” video.

John McCain’s Friday rally announcing that Sarah Palin would be his running mate on the Republican Presidential ticket* was capped by a rousing play of Van Halen’s “Right Now,” a song selection that put Van Halen’s management in a snit. “Permission was not sought or granted nor would it have been given,” an unidentified person in the Van Halen camp told TMZ. But tequila maven and longtime GOP supporter Sammy Hagar–who sang the lyrics that the McCain/Palin campaign was so inspired by–begs to disagree! He thinks “Right Now” is a song for everyone, no matter what the jerks who are now touring under the Van Halen banner might think.

Despite Eddie’s rehab stint turning a summer tour into a fall tour, despite Eddie’s health (and rumors of a feud with the band) causing postponements later in the tour, and despite replacing their bassist of more than 25 years with Eddie’s frikkin’ child (who looks more like the child of Valerie Bertinelli and DannyPartridge), the recent Van Halen reunion tour made a whopping $93 million plus, easily making it the top grossing tour in the band’s history. All that’s currently planned for the future is a live DVD and a spot on Guitar Hero World Tour, but I’d be surprised if Dave and Eddie won’t at least try to work up some new material, only to split again when Dave changes Eddie’s song “The Dream Of Love” to “Wolfie and The Hand Jive.”

Chickenfoot is go! The supergroup, led by Sammy Hagar, will also bring together fellow former Van Haleneer Michael Anthony, wank wizard Joe Satriani, and Red Hot Chili Pepper Chad Smith for an album, and Hagar could not be more pumped. “When people hear the music, it’s Led Zeppelin. It’s as good as that. I know that’s a mighty bold statement…We could rival Zep.” Dude, I love Led Zeppelin! This is great news! I was totally telling someone the other day that we needed a new Led Zeppelin, and here comes Sammy Hagar with a bottle of tequila, saying that he’s got one. I haven’t been this stoked since Walking To Clarksdale.